Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), the holding company of tycoon Andrew Tan, banked on its overseas operations and diversification efforts to ride out the effects of the pandemic.
During the firm’s annual stockholders’ meeting, AGI Chairman Andrew Tan said the company received a big boost from the increasing contribution from its foreign operations, particularly from the global liquor businesses and international property sales.
“The diversification of our operations, products, and services also helped the Group in extenuating the effect of the pandemic on the bottom line. These diversified investments span geographical developments in Metro Manila and key provincial areas, as well as our pursuits in the international spirits market,” Tan said.
He noted that, “Our multiple sources of income have allowed our Group to balance our portfolio.” “The pandemic brought us a lot of learnings — the most important of which is that it allowed us to validate the soundness of our businesses, as well as the effectiveness of the Group’s strategies,” said AGI Chief Executive Officer Kevin Andrew L. Tan.
At the height of the pandemic and the hard lockdowns that impacted the domestic economy last year, AGI’s revenues received a significant uplift from its international whisky and brandy operations under Emperador which contributed the biggest share of 41 percent to AGI’s consolidated revenue during the period.
The Group‘s single malt and blended whisky brands continue to enjoy significant prominence in the global market.
“To date, The Dalmore, Jura and Tamnavulin have joined the list of the Top 25 Global Single Malt Brands, while all of Whyte and Mackay’s single malt whisky brands are growing in the UK, Europe, US, Canada and Asia,” said Tan.
AGI’s foreign property sales, through Megaworld International, also delivered significantly for the Group despite the pandemic.
Megaworld International, the global sales and marketing arm of Megaworld, which has presence in more than 60 countries around the world, typically contributes a quarter of total real estate sales every year.
About 50 perncet of its foreign sales come from North America, with the balance accounted for by homebuyers in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Aside from international sales, Megaworld also derived increased contribution from its residential projects outside of Metro Manila as part of its geographic diversification strategy.
At a time when consumer preference has shifted to the areas outside of the metro, which can offer more open spaces under the New Reality, Megaworld’s provincial residential projects served as its primary source of reservation sales.
“AGI is set to pursue more township projects outside of Metro Manila, contributing strongly to future sales, backed by over 4,300 hectares of developable land throughout the country,” added Tan.
Meanwhile, two other AGI subsidiaries have learned to come up with innovative offerings to remain relevant.